


Young and in Love

by emily_hufflepuff



Category: The Last Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Acceptance, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Family, Fluff, Post-Season/Series 04, Romance, Teen Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29064231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emily_hufflepuff/pseuds/emily_hufflepuff
Summary: Leofflaed's world is turned upside down when she falls in love with the youngest of Uhtred's band of warriors.Young Sihtric has followed in his father's footsteps and now serves Lord Uhtred in his loyal band of warriors. He thinks he has everything he ever dreamed of until he meets a blacksmith's daughter in Winchester and realises there is more to life than just battles.A story of love and family.
Relationships: Ealhswith/Sihtric (The Last Kingdom), Sihtric & Young Sihtric (The Last Kingdom), Sihtric (The Last Kingdom) & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. My name is Leofflaed

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing anything like this so hopefully it won't be too bad! I absolutely love The Last Kingdom and couldn't help myself from writing something. 
> 
> This is set a couple of years after the end of season 4 and mainly focuses on Sihtric, his son Young Sihtric, and an original character of mine, Leofflaed. 
> 
> This won't be the most sophisticated thing you'll ever read but I hope you enjoy it regardless x
> 
> (Warning there is reference to domestic abuse)

_Young Sihtric:_

The rain lashed down as Sihtric trudged through the ankle-deep mud that now covered the streets of Winchester. His arms ladened with chainmail and armour as he made his way to the blacksmith’s. They had just returned from fighting off a rogue group of Danes along the Mercian border, but it seemed that they would have little rest, with news reaching them of more trouble elsewhere. Seeing as there was no time to return to Coccham, it had been decided to get all needed repairs done in Winchester. As no one else had wanted to go out in the rain, the task of getting everything repaired had fallen to Sihtric. Being the youngest of Uhtred’s men meant he was always lumped with the tasks no one else wanted.

He finally reached the small blacksmith’s shop, thankful for finally being sheltered from the freezing rain. He was completely soaked, his clothes clinging to his skin, the cold seeping into his bones. The small shop was empty, the door that led to the forge at the back slightly ajar.

‘Hello?’

There was a shuffling and a clanking of metal before the door creaked open. A young woman came through it, placing some newly sharpened swords on the table. She had golden hair that fell in messy waves just below her shoulders, partly tied into a knot at the back of her head. She smiled brightly as she looked up from putting the swords away, her eyes seemed to sparkle even in the darkened room.

‘Can I help you, sir?’

It took a moment for Sihtric to answer, somehow his words getting stuck in his throat.

‘Err, yes. I need this armour fixed’ he stammered, placing the soaked chainmail on the table, all the while never looking away from the women’s face. She couldn’t be much younger than himself, her eyes blinking nervously as a blush formed on her cheeks. He realised he had been starring, feeling rather embarrassed he looked quickly away. ‘I need a new knife and a seax as well, and I will need them to be done by tomorrow’ he said quickly, turning back to the task in hand. 

She nodded, humming something to herself as she looked over the armour.

‘You aren’t the blacksmith here are you?’

‘Would that be so surprising?’ she asked as she eyed him, a playful smile creeping across her face. She laughed, shaking her head. ‘No, I am not. But I will make sure that my father gets the work done on time. For the right price of course.’

He handed over a handful of silver Uhtred had given him. She frowned as she began counting them out.

‘This is enough for the repairs and the knife but the seax will cost you extra. I don’t know, let us say five pieces of silver.’

‘That’s ridiculous!’ Sihtric retorted, his arms coming to cross his body as his face turned into a frown. She seemed to find this amusing as she turned away.

‘Fine, go back to your lord and explain to him why he has no seax to ride into battle with.’

Sihtric sighed. It was Finan who had asked for the new seax after he had given his own to Eadith, he could only imagine the inventive threats and insults that would be thrown his way if he returned without one.

‘Two pieces of silver, no more,’ he said as sternly as he could. He was only seventeen, but he was as tall as his father and in his armour and fur he looked every bit the Danish warrior. He pulled himself up tall so as to seem intimidating but by her raised eyebrows and small smile he could tell it wasn’t working.

‘Four,’ she said, her sly smile growing as she walked around the table towards him. She was right in front of him now, her eyes meeting his. She did not look away, giving him a determined look. He could tell that she was no push over when it came to haggling.

‘I will give you three extra pieces of silver,’ he said slowly, ‘ _if_ you tell me your name,’ he finished with a cheeky grin.

‘Deal!’ She said taking the silver from his hand, her fingers brushing slightly against his own. ‘My name is Leofflaed’ her bright smile returning to her face, ‘tell your lord that I’ll see to it that this is all done by sunset tomorrow’.

\---

The group fell silent as Uhtred came to join them at the table outside the alehouse. Sihtric was glad that the rain had finally stopped, however dark masses of threatening clouds continued to fill the sky and block the setting sun.

‘What news lord?’ his father asked as Uhtred sat down next to Finan and poured himself a cup of ale.

‘We ride to the East Anglian border tomorrow,’ his lord announced, taking a deep drink of his ale, ‘the Dane, Gudbrand, is raiding villages there’.

‘How many men does he have?’ Osferth asked, refilling his own cup.

‘Not many, twenty at most.’

‘Well it shouldn’t be too hard to kill the bastards then, eh?’ laughed Finan, clapping the two men sitting beside him on the back. His father was taking a drink at that precise moment, causing him to choke and splutter on his ale. They all laughed as Finan avoided a smack around the head that had been aimed in his direction.

Sihtric’s father was also caused Sihtric, leading to him being known as Young Sihtric and his father occasionally being referred to as Sihtric the Elder. The names always made him laugh, especially as he was really not that young anymore and his father was still not that old. He had only started riding into battle with Uhtred and his father a little under a year ago, but he felt that he was starting to become one of them. He was still the butt of most of their jokes and he received plenty of stick from all of them, but he had started to feel like he truly belonged none the less. It had been his dream ever since he was a little boy to fight alongside his father, a man he had always considered to be the greatest warrior of them all. Ever since the last skirmish with the Danes, Sihtric had been eager to get back out there, ready to try and prove himself to his father and Lord Uhtred. The idea of being back on the battlefield in a matter of days made his blood rush from excitement.

‘Osferth, go get our armour from the blacksmith’s, it should be ready-‘

‘I’ll go lord,’ Sihtric jumping to his feet and half running down the street before Osferth had even had a chance to put down his ale. They gave him a puzzled look before turning back to their ale and their talk of the coming journey. 

He had a strange light feeling in his chest as he wondered down the darkening streets towards the blacksmith’s shop. Somehow he couldn’t get the way Leofflaed’s smile had lit up her whole face out of his head.

A broad smile came across his face as he entered the shop, her eyes meeting his across the room as she dealt with another customer. Sihtric held back, watching as she handed over a new sword, expertly balancing the blade to showcase the craftsmanship.

‘Here you are,’ she said with a sigh as she laid out the repaired armour on the table in front of him. She reached up to some hooks above her head where a variety of weapons were hanging, bringing down a small knife and a seax with a carved wooden handle.

‘Will these do?’

‘Yes, my lord will be pleased. Please pass my thanks onto your father,’ he answered politely, gathering up the array of armour and weapons into his arms.

‘You never told me your name. It seems only fair as I told you mine,’ she called before he turned to leave, her eyebrows raised and a smile creeping across her face.

‘Sihtric,’ he answered, shifting the armour onto one arm so he could extend the other towards her. She took his hand tentatively, giving it a small shake, her skin warm against his own. She frowned slightly as he released her hand.

‘That’s a Danish name isn’t it?’ she asked, cocking her head. ‘Isn’t one of Lord Uhtred’s men named Sihtric?’

‘Yes, that is my father,’ Sihtric replied eagerly, he had always been so proud of his father as being Uhtred’s third. ‘But I also serve Lord Uhtred, in fact we ride tomorrow to fight raiders to the north!’ he added hastily. He found that he increasingly wanted Leofflaed to think well of him, perhaps be even a little impressed that a man of only seventeen years was fighting alongside the great Lord Uhtred of Bebbenburg.

To his delight, Leofflaed seemed genuinely impressed at this development. ‘Really? That’s wonderful, I have heard so many stories of the great Dane Slayer, well, I mean everyone has! You must tell me about-‘

But she never got a chance to ask. The door to the forge swung open with a bang and an older, worn looking man stepped through, eyeing Sihtric suspiciously.

‘Leofflaed!’

Sihtric couldn’t help but notice her flinch at the sound of his voice.

‘You haven’t got time to stand around and talk all day, girl. Those swords will not sharpen themselves!’

Leofflaed give him a small smile before bowing her head. Despite the glares from the man Sihtric assumed to be her father, he couldn’t help but stare as he watched her walk from the room, her hair swaying as she went.


	2. Like it was always supposed to happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leofflaed is surprised when she meets Young Sihtric again.

_Leofflaed_

The sky was still black outside her window as she slowly got up from her bed and began to dress. Leofflaed pressed down her linen skirts with her hands, smoothing out the creases before turning her attention to her unruly mass of hair. She winced slightly as she touched the side of her cheek where her father had struck her the night before, no doubt already forming into a nasty bruise. He wasn’t a cruel man, she reminded herself, he was simply hurting and the copious amounts of ale he drank to try and forget the pain often made him act in ways he wouldn’t normally. Ever since Leofflaed’s mother had died six years ago, something inside her father had broken and never healed. She tried to remember the calm, kind man that had loved her mother so much, the father she knew as a child, but his drunken outbursts of anger were becoming more frequent, his anger more and more being directed at her, and that image had slowly faded in her memory.

She went about her daily duties as she did any other day. She tended to the forge, making sure there was enough wood for the day’s work. Entering the kitchen, she tended to the fire and began to make bread ready for her father to eat once he woke. As dawn started to break, she counted out the silver her father had left her to buy groceries with. A deep sigh escaped her. It wasn’t enough, no doubt he had wasted most of what they had on ale the previous night. This was becoming a far too frequent occurrence. She silently made her way to the storeroom, moving a bag of flour and lifting a loose floorboard at the back of the room. Carefully counting out the small pieces of silver she had saved, she slipped a couple of pieces into her pocket. Her father would beat her blue if he discovered she had been keeping small amounts of the takings without his knowledge, but it was becoming increasingly clear he could not be trusted with their money.

The market was murmuring with activity despite the early hour, as she made her way down towards the stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables. She eyed the fabric stalls with longing, she hadn’t had a new dress for years and all the ones she owned were faded and frayed. Despite this she knew her father would be furious if she spent even a penny without his permission, so she forced herself to move on.

It had been over a month since Sihtric had visited the shop, one customer among the hundreds she must have served since then. However, she couldn’t help but let her mind wonder back to him. The way he looked at her; the way he had made her smile. Perhaps it was simply because she had seen very few Danes up close. Never having been one to form crushes, or even take much notice of boys at all really, she had told herself off repeatedly for daydreaming about a boy she had barely met and new nothing of.

She had not expected to see Sihtric again, or at least not for a long time. He would be away fighting Danes and when he wasn’t doing that, he would be with his lord at Coccham. Even if they came to Winchester, she wouldn’t see him unless he needed a new sword or amour that needed mending. It was therefore a surprise when she saw him groggily stumble out of an alehouse into the street across from her.

Leofflaed stood for a moment, not sure if it was appropriate to simply accost a man she barely knew in the middle of the street, however she soon found her courage and walked purposefully towards him.

‘Hello again,’ she said with a smile as she approached. His head turned towards her and for a painful moment she feared he did not remember her.

‘Leofflaed! You are a sight for sore eyes!’

She let out a breath she had not realised she had been holding in. She made up the remaining distance between them as he gave her a grateful smile.

‘You look awful,’ she laughed. It was true, now she was closer she could see cuts all over his arms, his thick dark hair unkept and unwashed and a general feeling of exhaustion radiating off of him.

‘I haven’t had a good night sleep in a month! We only just got back from East Anglia,’ he said with a great sigh. ‘It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal, just deal with a few raiders – no trouble! But of course when you serve Lord Uhtred the trouble just seems to find you.’

Leofflaed couldn’t help but laugh. He was about her age, perhaps a little older, tall and broad, and even though he was still quite young, gave off the sense of being a warrior. Despite this, when he laughed and his eyes lit up as he explained all the trouble his lord had gotten them into, he seemed very young. A youthful joy seemed to come off him, something Leofflaed herself hadn’t felt in many years, having had to grow up far too quickly.

‘I have to go back and help my father,’ she said sadly, hating to have to end the conversation. Her father no doubt was already wondering where she had gotten to. She couldn’t explain why but she desperately wanted to hear more about his adventures, to spend more time with him. ‘If you are still around I could meet you later, if you wanted?’

There was a moment of silence before Sihtric finally beamed at her.

‘I would love to, my lady.’

\----

Leofflaed very much enjoyed her talks with Sihtric. He had come and found her later that day just like he had promised, and they had talked about everything and nothing until the sky had gone dark. Time seemed to speed up when she was with him, the few hours they had together seemingly passing in a heartbeat.

She had seen him several more times since then, whenever he came to Winchester he would always come and find her. They had developed a secret code, when he was in town he would leave a stone at the back door of the forge and then she would meet him next to the church later that day when she could finally get away from her father. His anger and treatment of her had not gone unnoticed by Sihtric. He would gently touch her bruising skin and she would see anger behind his eyes, but she had made him swear he would not do anything - and he was a man of his word.

His sense of honour was one of the many things she liked about him. She liked how proud he was of his family and his lord, always telling her how kind his mother was and all the brave deeds his father had done. That was another thing she liked, the way he told stories – seemingly able to turn the most simple, mundane thing into a captivating tale. He told her of all the adventures Lord Uhtred had been on, all the places they had been. Having barely ever been outside the walls of Winchester, Leofflaed was enthralled by the tales of Bebbenburg and Northumbria, Mercia, Cornwalum and East Anglia. Some were Sihtric’s own memories, whilst most were stories that had been told and retold by Lord Uhtred and his men – either way she loved them all. She also loved the way he talked about his gods; he would recite all their names and their powers and tell her all the stories his father had told him as a child. She especially loved learning about Njord, god of the sea. Her mother had grown up on the coast as a daughter of a fisherman and had always told her stories of the sea, although Leofflaed had never seen it.

What she liked most about Sihtric though was how interested he seemed to be in her. She had a very ordinary life, nothing compared to the adventures he had been on. Even his time at Coccham seemed more interesting than her life. She had very few friends, knew little gossip of her neighbours, did the same work every day and never travelled further than the market and occasionally to the graveyard where her mother was buried. However, despite this, Sihtric always asked her what she did that day and asked her a thousand questions about every little thing she did, always making out her day to day life to be far more exciting than it actually was.

\---

It was a bright spring day and she woke with a spring in her step. She had been seeing Sihtric on and off for nearly half a year now. His visits had become more and more frequent and, although he said he only came when Lord Uhtred needed him to buy supplies or for him to deliver a message, she knew he had been making up excuses to come to Winchester.

She had _finally_ persuaded her father to give her a whole day off. It was Easter Sunday and she had somehow managed to convince him that you shouldn’t have to work on a holy day such as this. She quickly put together a small basket comprising of freshly baked bread, cheese and fruit along with a small flask of ale she had smuggled from her father. Heading towards the stables she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face, and she realised she did not want to.

Sihtric was already at the stables waiting for her, lazily leaning against the side of the structure. His face lit up as he saw her approaching, a sight that sent butterflies into her stomach.

‘My lady,’ he said in pretend formal tone, giving her an over the top bow. She played along, giving him a deep curtsey and allowing him to gently kiss her hand, making them both burst out laughing.

After helping her up onto the horse, Sihtric climbed on behind her, his arms wrapping around her as he took the reins. She hadn’t ridden a horse since she was a child and was thankful Sihtric was there to support her. The fact that she could feel his heart beating against her back and his warm breath against her ear wasn’t bad either.

They rode to the woods outside Winchester, following the winding river until they reached a small clearing next to the riverbank. It had been so long since she had been outside the city’s walls that she had almost forgotten how beautiful nature was. It was so quiet. She loved how peaceful and serene it was – nothing like the bustling streets she had grown used to. Sihtric chuckled behind her.

‘What’s so funny?’

‘I don’t know, anyone would have thought you had never seen a tree before.’

She laughed along with him as he helped her down from the horse. They laid out the blanket and she settled happily next to him; his arm gently curved around her waist. They sat in silence for a while, Leofflaed gently resting her head on his shoulder. To her it was nothing short of paradise.

‘I have a gift for you,’ he said, turning his head slightly so she could see his face.

‘Really? Sihtric you didn’t have to.’

‘Here,’ he said reaching into his saddle bag. He gently placed a small dagger into her hands, the handle plane wood but with a beautiful engraving along one side.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she breathed.

‘I want you to have some way of defending yourself. I’ll teach you how to use it and conceal it properly. Then no one will be able to hurt you.’

Something in his voice made her look up into his face. He looked genuinely worried, his kind eyes full of concern and something else she could not quite place.

‘The truth is,’ he said tentatively, ‘well, I really care about you. I know I swore I would do nothing about your father, but I would be able to sleep much better knowing who had some way of fighting him off if it goes too far.’

He didn’t seem to want to meet her eye. Was he embarrassed because he told her he cared for her? Was it because he knew the topic of her father was rather a sore subject? Or was it because he was nervous that she wouldn’t return his affections?

‘Look, Leofflaed, it’s okay if you don’t feel the same, it’s just-‘

So, it was the third option. He never got to finish as she brought her lips to his. Her hand gently cupped the side of his face as he wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close to him. It felt like this was always supposed to happen, that this was how it should always be, how she always wanted it to be – just the two of them, together.


	3. All That Mattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Uhtred and his men are called away to battle.

_Leofflaed:_

Leofflaed laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her father had been in a foul mood all week and had insisted that she stay in the shop all day, meaning she hadn’t been able to meet Sihtric. Not only was she disappointed because she had not been able to see him, but she worried that he’d think she stood him up, or worse that she didn’t want to see him. She wondered how long he would stand by the church before he gave up on her. She sighed, it was too dangerous to go out now – the streets weren’t safe for young women at night and she didn’t even know if he would still be there. She pulled out the dagger he had brought her, absentmindedly twirling it in her fingers and flipping the blade over in her hand. Ever since Sihtric had given it too her a couple of months ago, it had become a habit to go over the moves he had taught her whenever she was alone. She somehow found it calming, going over the monotonous movements again and again.

There was a sharp rap against the wooden shutters of her window, making her head snap towards the sound. It happened a second time. Tentatively, gripping her dagger the way Sihtric had taught her, she approached the window and creaked one of the shutters open. Her heart almost stopped beating, as there standing below her was Sihtric, the cheekiest grin on his face.

‘Sorry I never came to the church, my father wouldn’t let me get away,’ she whispered down to him.

He waved off her apology. ‘It’s fine don’t worry, just wanted to make sure you were okay before we left tomorrow. Anyway, I’ll see you when I get back’.

As he turned to go, she whispered his name as loud as she dared to stop him leaving. It had been becoming increasingly hard to say goodbye recently, especially as somehow she felt empty whenever he wasn’t there, as if a part of her was missing.

‘My father has gone to the alehouse; I doubt he’ll be back for hours yet. You could,’ she stopped trying to decide if this was an indecent proposal, ‘you could come up and talk for a bit if you wanted?’

‘You sure?’ he sounded uncertain, but she nodded. He would be leaving again tomorrow and who knows when she would see him again. Afterall it was no sin to have a conversation with someone.

She climbed down and opened the back door for him. He smiled sheepishly as she began going back up the ladder to the loft where she slept.

‘What? You never seen a ladder before?’ she laughed.

‘Not one that leads to a woman’s bedroom, no.’

‘Come on,’ she whispered, giving his arm a gentle tug.

They sat on her bed for a while, talking like they always did, his arms wrapped around her. He told her about an alehouse brawl Finan had gotten them into a couple of nights previously, laughing as he explained how Lord Uhtred had headbutted the Thane of the village during the fight, leading to them disguising themselves as women so as to make it out of the village alive. Soon they both were rolling around laughing, tears streaming down their faces.

Leofflaed had always loved Sihtric’s laugh; the sound always brought her so much joy. In fact, she found she loved every single thing about him.

She reached up tentatively to lightly kiss him, looking intently into his eyes. He looked at her for a moment before putting his hands gently around her face and drawing her to him. The kiss soon deepened, her arms wrapping around his neck as his made circles on her back and shoulders. She pulled him closer, their bodies pressed together. She toyed with the hem of his shirt before slipping her hand underneath, running her fingers up and down his bare back, taking note of the scars that he had already acquired in only his short time as a warrior. More would be added over the eyes, she did not doubt.

He began kissing her neck, laying a trail from her jaw to her collarbone, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. She pulled his shirt over his head and she traced over his muscles lightly with her fingers. This is what she wanted, to be with Sihtric, and she didn’t care what anyone said or what anyone thought. He could easily die on his next mission with Lord Uhtred, or the one after that or the one after that, and she wanted to be with him before that happened.

She broke away from him, studying his kind brown eyes. She stood slowly and began to undo her dress, all the while never breaking his gaze. As she was about to let it drop to the floor, he reached and grabbed her hands. Slowly getting up so he was at her eye level, looking at her with so much love and affection.

‘You don’t have to do this,’ he whispered, his face so close to hers their noses touched.

‘I love you,’ she breathed, unable to contain the smile that was spreading across her face, ‘and I want to be with you. Please.’

He nodded, stepping slightly back from her. She let her dress fall to the floor around her ankles, leaving her completely bare in front of him. She watched in delight as his eyes ran up and down her body, taking in every one of her curves. She closed the distance between them, running her fingers through his hair as she pulled him towards her. She undid his breaches and pressed herself against him, the heat of his body radiating against her skin. They gently fell onto the bed. He ran his hands up and down her bare thighs, sending shivers all along her body. His eyes searched her face, as if asking one last time for permission, before she felt him inside her. It was the most glorious thing she had ever felt. He was hers, and she was his, and that was all that mattered.

_\---_

_Young Sihtric:_

Sihtric sat on the steps of the palace in Winchester, drumming his fingers against his thigh in impatience. They had been summoned by King Edward in haste, and by the look on Uhtred’s face this was serious. There had been talk for weeks of a great Dane army gathering in Wealas and, more worryingly, rumours that some of the Welsh kings had decided to join them rather than stand against them. No doubt the fate of King Hywel of Deheubarth was still fresh in their minds. 

Lord Uhtred and Finan had been talking with the king and the other ealdormen for nearly two hours. If there was a battle to fight, he would rather they just go and fight it. It was the waiting he hated, the anticipation, uncertainty and fear that would seep into his bones as battle approached. He masked his fear well, he didn’t want his father to see him afraid, but he was none the less. He knew that this was to be a battle like none he had witnessed before. He had been in his fair share of ambushes, raids and skirmishes, but this was to be a full-on battle with hundreds of warriors on each side.

He let his mind drift back to Leofflaed - he found even just thinking about her calmed his nerves. They had spent several more nights together after that first time and he smiled to himself remembering each and every one. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and his heart swelled with pride when he thought that out of all men she chose him.

‘Why is the boy looking so pleased with himself?’ Came a familiar voice. Sihtric smiled as he looked up to see Father Pyrlig standing over him.

‘He’s probably thinking about the girl he is obsessed with,’ Osferth chimed in.

‘Oh, I’m sure there are plenty of them, right lad?’ Pyrlig clapping him on the back.

He nodded at the joke. Pyrlig was certainly a very odd kind of priest. It hadn’t taken the others long to work out why he was always so keen to go to Winchester, which had led to him being the subject of many inappropriate jokes, especially from Finan. Although he always made it out like it wasn’t a big deal, he knew deep down that it was. It had been nearly a year since he had first seen her in the blacksmith’s shop and he swore that he had never thought of anyone else ever since that moment. The longer he was with her the more certain he had become that she was who he wanted to spend his life with. They hadn’t talked much about the future, apart from Sihtric promising to take her to the coast so she could finally see the sea that her mother had loved so much, but if they ever got onto the subject he thought he would offer to marry her. Just the thought of her being his wife brought a great swelling feeling to his chest.

‘Look alive,’ came a rough Irish voice.

‘We march as soon as the men are readied,’ Uhtred began, following Finan down the palace steps, ‘Mercia will join us on the road to the Wealas border.’

‘We’re going now?’ Sihtric gasped.

His father came over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘It’ll take a while to get the horses and the other guards ready,’ he said as he looked deep into his son’s eyes, ‘I’ll get your things ready. If you want to say goodbye to that girl you’re in love with, you better go now – and be quick about it, we won’t wait for you.’

He didn’t need to be told twice. He ran as fast as his feet could take him, his heart beating so hard he thought it would explode out of his chest. He reached the shop and forced himself to slow himself down. If he burst in like a mad man she would probably attack him, knowing her. He opened the door just wide enough to see in; Leofflaed was sat at the table counting pieces of silver from her last sale, her father just beyond the open door to the forge. He managed to catch her eye and motion for her to follow him outside.

A few moments later she rushed out the door, grabbed his hand in hers and rounded the corner into a side street. He threw his arms round her and lifted her off the ground. Placing her down softly, he gently ran his fingers through her ever-tangled golden mass of hair.

‘What are you doing here?’ she asked breathlessly, a smile broad across her face, ‘if my father sees us-‘

‘I know I’m sorry, but we are marching to Wealas now. I had to see you before I went!’

‘How long will you be gone – do you know?’ she asked, looking up into his eyes, her brow furrowing in concern.

‘It could be months. This is like no other battle I have been involved in.’

She nodded at this, borrowing her head into his neck. They stayed there for a moment, neither wanting to pull away.

‘Promise you will come back to me?’ she whispered into the crook of his neck, ‘don’t do anything stupid – don’t go off trying to be a hero.’

‘Oh, so you don’t think I am heroic?’ he asked playfully, trying to distract himself from the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. He knew as well as she did that this could well be the last time they ever saw each other – battles were bloody and even the best worriers sometimes never came home.

‘You know what I mean,’ she said with a slight smile as she finally drew away from him.

‘I love you,’ he whispered, ‘I always will.’ With one last kiss he forced himself to turn away and walk back towards the others. His first major battle awaited him.


	4. We will be home soon, I promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young Sihtric survives his first major battle.

_Young Sihtric:_

He sank to his knees, learning against his bloodstained axe to keep him from keeling over. Sihtric had survived his first major battle. He had nasty gashes on his left arm and his right thigh, he was covered in blood and mud from head to foot, and he was utterly exhausted – but he was alive. Not only had he survived but they had also won. It wasn’t the decisive victory they had hoped for, with many of the Danes escaping, but they had won. And that was what mattered to Sihtric in that moment – they could worry about the survivors another day.

He had no idea where the others were. He remembered standing between his father and Osferth in the shield wall, before it was violently torn apart. At one point he had been fighting back to back with Finan. He had run across the battlefield, smashing in the brains of a giant of a Dane who had forced Uhtred to the ground. He could see none of them now, not that he had really looked. He was too exhausted; all he could do was stare at the blood and death that surrounded him.

‘Sihtric!’

‘Sihtric!’

Rough hands pulled him off the ground and before he knew it his father had his arms around him.

‘I thought I’d lost you,’ the older man said hoarsely into his son’s neck, ‘when I couldn’t find you, I thought-‘

‘Father, I’m fine, honestly.’

‘There’s the wee lad – I told ya nothing had happened to him, didn’t I?’

Soon everyone was around him, they were all alive if not fully unscathed. Osferth’s arm seemed in a bad way, leading him to mutter something about spending half his life with his arm in a sling. Finan’s face was covered in so much blood it was hard to recognise him, but it seemed the majority of it wasn’t his. As his father finally released his grip on him, he was relieved to see that apart from some cuts and scrapes he seemed unharmed. Uhtred was speaking intently to Lady Aefelflaed, Lord Aldhelm and King Edward a few feet away from them; they too seemingly surviving the battle with only minor injuries.

‘We are heading to Wealas,’ Uhtred said as he walked over to where his men now stood. ‘We cannot allow the remaining Danes to regroup and send for reinforcements from Ireland. Get as much rest as you can tonight, we leave at first light.’

Another battle? Sihtric wasn’t sure he could face another one. He had only just survived this one, and he was utterly exhausted. He loved being a warrior, its who he was but right now he just wanted to go home. He wanted to sleep, he wanted to hug his mother and his sister, and above all he wanted to be with Leofflaed.

‘Hey,’ he looked up as a hand was placed on his shoulder, seeing his lord looking down at him with concern. ‘You fought bravely today. I was proud to fight alongside you, and I am thankful for you for saving my life.’

‘You would have killed him without my help, I know you would.’

‘Perhaps,’ he said laughing, pulling his friend’s son into a hug, ‘I know you are tired, but if we do not finish them now then they will only come back stronger and then all this will have been for nothing.’

Sihtric nodded. Another battle was coming, and he would be ready.

\---

_Sihtric:_

It was his turn to keep watch as the others slept around the fire they had built. Sihtric threw another couple of logs into the fire, they were fast approaching Autumn and there was a chill in the night air.

It had been nearly four months since they had left Winchester, and three since that first major battle. They had fought in several smaller battles, been ambushed more than once and had fought in one of the bloodiest battles he had ever seen since then. But it was over now, after all the effort and all the blood lost, they were finally going home.

It would be a long ride back to Wessex, in their mission to destroy the Danes they had ended up on the Welsh coast, further from home than they had expected. The weather was getting worse, having rained constantly the last few weeks, turning the ground to a sea of mud which no doubt would not make the journey any easier.

He was glad that they had all made it through; after losing Beocca at Bebbenburg he wasn’t sure Uhtred would be able to cope if he lost Sihtric, Finan or Osferth too. He did not know how many times he had thanked the gods that his son had made it out alive, but he silently thanked them one more time. For a minute at the end of the first battle he thought his son had been taken from him, he had looked around and couldn’t see him and when he called he had not answered – it had been the most painful minute of his life. The relief that had flooded over him when he had found his son crouching in the dirt, covered in blood, in shock but alive had been like nothing he had ever felt before.

He heard one of the men stirring and saw his son slowly get up and make his way across the camp towards him. Young Sihtric came and sat next to him, his head resting on his shoulder.

‘I am so proud of you, son,’ he whispered, putting his arm around him.

‘I did my best,’ his son sighed, ‘are we really going home this time?’

‘If all goes to plan, yeah.’

‘When does anything ever go to plan where Uhtred is concerned?’ his son laughed.

‘True,’ Sihtric admitted, ‘but we will be home soon, I promise.’

\----

‘We’ll reach Winchester by this evening; we’ll stay there for the night and then we will go onto Coccham,’ Uhtred called back to them from the front of the group.

It had been a long journey back home, but to finally be back in Wessex and be so close to home made Sihtric forget about his aching muscles, the throbbing pain in his arm or his heavy fatigue. It seemed odd to think that before he joined Uhtred he had never had a real home. He had found he enjoyed the feeling; of having somewhere that was his, where he was surrounded by people that he loved, of coming home.

Most of the journey back had been spent pestering his son about the girl he had left in Winchester. Finan had made as many inappropriate and embarrassing jokes at Young Sihtric’s expense as he had been able to come up with, more than once telling him he would find her underneath another man when they returned. Uhtred had been little better, teasing the poor boy about what she was like to bed, whilst Osferth had been trying, and failing, to work out the identity of the girl in question.

Although he had laughed at their jokes, Sihtric had not joined in his son’s interrogation. He had known that he had been sneaking off to visit her in Winchester for months before the others had cottoned on. He had said nothing as he had hoped his son would tell him in his own time. His wife, Ealhswith, had wondered if they would be getting a daughter in law soon. Young Sihtric was still only eighteen, although old enough to marry, most young men would not wish to tie themselves down at such an age. But then again, his son was not like most men. Like Sihtric himself, his son was not interested in sleeping around, he had found a woman he loved and was happy to spend the rest of his life loving her and her alone. Just like Sihtric had been when he had met Ealhswith all those years ago.

It was late afternoon by the time they entered through the gates of Winchester. The streets thronged with people, market traders trying to sell the last of their day’s wears whilst the townsfolk began to go home for dinner. It always amazed Sihtric how little the city changed, no matter how long they had been away.

Uhtred and Finan were called to the palace to discuss some issue or other, whilst his son had run off as soon as he had the chance (probably to find that girl they had all been talking about), leaving Sihtric and Osferth to find them all rooms for the night.

As they walked to one of the nicer inns, they heard loud shouting coming from a gathering of people.

‘Probably an alehouse brawl got out of hand,’ Osferth offered.

However, as they got closer, pushing themselves through the crowd, Sihtric’s stomach went sick. A large, well-muscled man had a smaller man pinned underneath him, beating him to a pulp. A girl behind him was being held back by another, grim faced man, as she screamed for him to stop, struggling against the arms holding her. He felt white hot rage ripple up his body. The poor soul being beaten to an inch of his life was his son, Young Sihtric.


	5. If you want to be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young Sihtric finds himself in trouble

_Sihtric:_

Sihtric didn’t need time to think. He ran at the man bent over his son, pushing him to the ground, fists ready to start beating the shit out of the arsehole. He got one good punch in, sending blood flying from the other man’s nose before two pairs of hands grabbed him from behind, dragging him back to the edge of the crowd. He let out a grunt as one of the men holding him violently kneed him in the ribs. It would seem that the arsehole had brought friends with him.

He glanced over to the other side of the crowd. Osferth was being held back by a man who was as thick as an oak, blood running down his friend’s chin from a broken lip. No doubt he had tried to come to his aid.

The man Sihtric had managed to push to the ground and gotten up, and again hovered over his son who was still splayed out on the ground. He was glad to see that the arsehole’s nose was still bleeding from where he had hit him.

‘Leave him alone!’ he screamed as he kicked against the men who were holding him.

‘You shut your mouth, you Danish piece of weasel shit!’

Sihtric didn’t understand. His son was a good lad, what could he have possibly done to deserve this? It was then that his eyes fell on the girl being held back; her face drenched in tears, a mass of tangled golden hair around her shoulders, and a swollen stomach. _Shit_.

‘Father please! You’re going to kill him, please!’ the girl screamed, as the man continued to beat the poor boy.

‘You don’t defile my daughter and get away with it, Dane – I’m going to kill you for what you did!’

Sihtric watched completely helpless, tears falling down his face as he watched his son’s face become nothing but blood.

Before he knew what was happening, the pregnant girl had whipped out a knife from nowhere and expertly sliced the shins of the man holding her back, making him scream out in pain as he released her. She then calmly walked to her father, deftly swapped her grip on her blade before placing it on the man’s throat. She pulled him back, forcing him to his knees. The crowd went silent. She walked around him, keeping the tip of her blade against his skin, until she faced him.

‘You _will_ stop, father,’ she said in an almost unnervingly calm voice, ‘I _love_ him, and I will not let you do this.’

She slowly drew the dagger away from her father’s throat. Slowly lowing her hands to her sides as she held the older man’s gaze.

‘This is _my_ fault, not Sihtric’s. I was the one who started it – who _asked_ for it. Me!’ she spat, her head held high in defiance, ‘If you want to punish someone, punish me – but _leave him alone_!’

There was silence, no one breathed as the man slowly stood to his feet, a look of utter hatred in his eyes. The girl stood, unflinching. Sihtric wondered if this was, perhaps, the bravest thing he had ever seen.

The man then drew back his fist and punched his daughter so hard in face she went sprawling to the ground, causing an audible gasp from the crowd.

‘Whore!’ he screamed at her.

‘What’s going on here?’

 _Oh, thank the gods_ ; Sihtric relaxed at the sound of Uhtred’s voice.

‘You are no longer a daughter of mine, you hear me? Your mother would be ashamed of you, God rest her soul. I never went to see your face again!’

‘You will step away from her and you tell your men to release my friends,’ Uhtred demanded as he strode out from the crowd, ‘the next person who lays a hand on one of my men will lose their hand, is that understood?’

There was rage behind his lord’s words, and the men holding them knew it. Sihtric was dropped to the ground.

‘Go,’ Uhtred tilted his head at the girl’s father, ‘before I kill you.’

‘Alright, shows over! You can all go home now,’ Finan shouted as he reached down to help Shitric to his feet.

The street gradually emptied as the people who had come to watch dispersed, the arsehole who had beaten his son melting into the crowd. He looked over to where his son lay bloodied on the ground, the girl clutching him, whispering something in his ear. With Finan’s help, Sihtric made his way over to them.

The girl helped Young Sihtric to sit up right; his son, barely conscious, falling into her arms.

‘It’s okay, it’s all going to be okay,’ she whispered.

Crouching down beside his son, he gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Uhtred looking utterly confused, having missed the entire thing, standing just behind him.

‘Lord,’ his sun murmured, barely above a whisper. His face turned to look up at Uhtred, so bloodied and disfigured he may not have recognised him. ‘I would like to ask for your permission,’ he began, as Uhtred lowered himself to meet his eye level, ‘I wish to marry Leofflaed and bring her home to Coccham, if that is acceptable, lord.’

Sihtric watched as Uhtred’s eyes softened, placing one hand on his shoulder, the other on his son’s back. ‘Of course,’ he whispered, relief flooding across Young Sihtric’s face.

It would seem he would be getting a daughter-in-law sooner than a had thought.

\---

 _Young Sihtric_ :

He couldn’t feel his face, his vision was blurred, and blood his mouth; he felt incredibly dizzy, like he was on a ship during a storm. People were trying to talk to him, but he couldn’t seem to hear them.

Clutching onto Leofflaed’s hand, he allowed himself to be dragged to his feet. His legs had gone completely numb and he felt his knees immediately buckle underneath his weight. Two sets of strong arms grabbed him before he could collapse to the floor. He groggily looked around, seeing the men carrying him were his father on one side, and Uhtred on the other.

When they reached the alehouse, they gentle placed him down on a bench outside. Osferth busied himself with finding bandages and something cold for his face as the other men fell down onto the benches around him. Leofflaed sat next to him, her arm around his shoulders as she lovingly brushed his blood-soaked hair out of his face with her fingers.

He turned to face her, blood running down her face where her father’s punch had broken the skin. He could feel the tears welling in his eyes. _This was his fault; he did this to her_.

‘Lea, I’m so sorry.’

She shook her head, her eyes threatening to spill yet more of her own tears.

‘You are here, just as you promised,’ she whispered with a small smile, cupping his misshapen face with her hands, ‘I have you and that is all I need – there is nothing for you to be sorry for.’

He shook his head. Because of him she had lost the only family she had left and had been humiliated in front of half of Winchester. Even if she forgave him, how could he ever forgive himself?

‘Listen,’ she whispered, pulling his face towards hers, ‘I chose you the night I invited you up to my room. To be with you was all I ever wanted. I made my choice just as you made yours. We cannot change the past, but we can look forward to the future.’

She smiled at him; the way that made her eyes light up. She took his hands in hers and placed them on her swollen stomach.

‘And I think it’s going to be a good future, don’t you?’

Pulling her towards him, holding her close as his arms wrapped around her, he knew she was right. They stayed there for what seemed like eternity, the rest of the world seemingly fading into nothing around them.

‘I’m going to be a father,’ he laughed, a broad smile crossing his face despite the pain it caused him.

‘Yes. Yes, you are.’

What a wonderful feeling that was.

‘Will you be alright here if I leave you for a moment? I fancy spending some time alone.’ She asked quietly, as she pulled back from him. He nodded. After everything that had happened, she deserved some time to sort out her thoughts.

As he watched her walk away in the direction of the church, a hand grabbed his shoulder. His father sat down where Leofflaed had been sitting, an array of bandages and rags in his hands.

‘Where is she going?’

‘She wants some time alone,’ he sighed, not being able to look his father in the eyes. ‘She’ll be in the graveyard, talking to her mother, no doubt. She’ll be back before dark.’

His father only nodded, before beginning to mop up the bloody mess that was his face. Soon blood-soaked rags filled the table, as something cold was pressed against his swollen eye. They sat in silence for a while, neither knowing what to say to the other. Finally, Young Sihtric couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

‘Father-‘

‘It’s okay,’ his father interrupted him, ‘it’s going to be okay.’ He looked at him with such understanding, his eyes finally meeting his own.

‘You’re not angry?’

‘A little, but,’ he paused, giving him a small smile, ‘it is hard to stay angry on the day you find out you’re going become grandfather.’

They both laughed quietly. His father gently wrapping his arms around him.

Sihtric had always looked up to his father, he had always been his hero. But somehow the respect he had for him only seemed to grow as he found himself thanking the gods for the hundredth time for blessing him with such a loving father. It would be okay, he knew, so long as his father was by his side. 

\----

 _Sihtric_ :

He had sent Young Sihtric to bed early, before the sun had even fully set. His son had been a mess both mentally and physically, having survived four months of sleeping rough and fighting battles even before the events of that day.

Sihtric sat in the alehouse with Finan and Uhtred in unusual silence. It seemed even Finan didn’t feel like cracking jokes tonight. Osferth came and sat back down at the bench, placing the two fresh jugs of ale on the table. He poured himself a large cupful and drank deep – after a day like that he needed one.

Not only had he almost watched his son be beaten to death, but he had simultaneously found out he was to be a grandfather and had gained a daughter-in-law. It was all a bit much.

Finan nudged his arm, nodding towards the entrance of the alehouse. Leofflaed was standing there, scanning the room. She smiled slightly as she saw them, carefully making her way across to where they were sitting.

‘I sent Sihtric to bed.’

‘That was probably for the best,’ she agreed, ‘but it was actually you I wished to speak to.’

There was silence for a moment as the men looked at each other. They knew each other so well they could have a whole conversation without needing to say a word. His friends seemed to understand as they made their excuses, leaving him alone with the young woman. He smiled and gestured for her to take the seat next to him.

She looked at him intently, the fire he had seen in her that afternoon seemingly extinguished, replaced by nervousness. She looked a little younger than his son but there was a maturity behind her eyes which he recognised as belonging to a child who had been forced to grow up too quickly.

‘I really do love your son,’ she blurted out, ‘and I wish to make him happy. I know what you probably think of me, well what everyone thinks of me, but I swear that I am no whore. I love your son and he’s the only man I’ve ever loved – or want to love. You have to believe me. I just-‘

He took her hands into his own so as to stop the words spilling uncontrollably from her mouth.

Looking at her in that moment, Sihtric was painfully reminded of another time when a kid who had no family who cared for them and no home to go back to was pleading to be accepted. He knew too well what it was like having a father that had rejected, humiliated, and beaten you. He would not abandon her, just like Uhtred hadn’t abandoned him.

‘I know you love my son, and I know that he loves you. You don’t have to explain yourself to me, I would never think of you as a whore, and even if you were, I would not hold that against you. You will always be welcome in my home, Leofflaed, always.’

As his words sank in, silent tears began to roll down her cheeks, mixing with the blood from the cut across her cheek from where her father had stuck her.

‘Do you need something cold for that?’ he asked, gently touching her aggravated cheek.

‘No, I’ll be fine, but thank you for the offer.’

‘You were very brave,’ he began, looking her sincerely in the eyes, ‘to stand up to your father like that, it took a lot of courage.’ And he meant it. He doubted many would have had the guts to do the same.

She let out a hollow, bitter laugh. ‘I had to do something,’ she murmured turning away from him, ‘and he’s not my father anymore, remember? I went back home before I came here; he wouldn’t even let me collect my belongings.’

Something in his stomach stirred. This man had just cast his daughter aside for one mistake, leaving her destitute for all he knew or cared, and he didn’t even have the decency to allow her to collect the few things that belonged to her. He could feel the anger in his belly, but he ignored it, allowing them to continue to sit in a companiable silence. 

As they sat there, he noticed that she had pulled out her dagger and was absentmindedly twirling it between her fingers. He watched with interest at how easily she manoeuvred the blade, not even looking at what she was doing. It was as if the blade was an extension to her body, like how his own weapons felt like an extension of his body, working in perfect unison.

‘Where did you get the dagger from?’ he asked quietly, his curiosity getting the better if him. ‘You are very skilled in using it.’

She chuckled, shaking her head. ‘I wouldn’t say quite say that, but I guess I practice a lot – I like the feeling of it in my hand.’ She looked at him from the corner of her eye before continuing. ‘It was actually a gift from your son.’

Sihtric was genuinely surprised. It was a nice dagger, nothing too fancy but it would have cost a fair bit of silver. He smiled as he wondered how long he had saved up to buy it for her.

‘He taught me how to use it too – and how to hide it so I can catch people by surprise,’ a smile spreading across her face as she turned to face him. ‘He wanted me to be able to defend myself from, well-‘

He watched as her smile faded. Someone had hurt her or had threatened to. He could feel the anger in his stomach start to churn again. He did not know this girl, but his son loved her and she would soon be a member of his family. He felt a need to protect her.

‘Who?’ he asked quietly but firmly.

‘Eadric – my father.’

Sihtric swallowed, the anger rising once again. His mind instinctively flicking back to the fear he had once had of his own father.

‘He was drunk, often,’ she continued, her voice small, ‘it started after my mother died. He was grieving and turned to drink to mask the pain. He never hurt me too badly, just a few bruises here and there, but I was always worried he’d come home one night and, well, lose control.’

‘Listen,’ he said firmly, turning her so she was facing him. He had made up his mind. ‘You don’t have to worry about him anymore. I swear that I will protect you, all three of you.’ He placed his land lightly on her stomach, where his grandchild grew. ‘Your father didn’t deserve you. I have only known you half a day and I already know that he must be a fool to throw you away. But his loss is my gain.’ He watched as her eyes widened as he took her hands. ‘You are a daughter to me now, and you will always be part of family,’ he smiled, ‘if you want to be.’

Before he knew it, her arms were around his neck, her tears wet against his skin. He gently placed his hand on her back.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered. All Sihtric could do was smile.


	6. Belongings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Uhtred and his men travel back to Coccham, however, Sihtric has some business in Winchester to deal with first.

_Sihtric:_

He woke early, light only beginning to come through the alehouse window. He splashed his face with cold water from the bucket that had been left in the room before pulling his tunic on over his head. Sihtric walked the few paces across the creaking floorboards to where Osferth lay, sprawled out where he had collapsed the night before.

‘Wake up sunshine,’ he grumbled, as he kicked him awake, ‘we need to pay someone a visit before we leave for Coccham.’

‘What? Who?’ came the groggy, still half a sleep reply from his friend.

He didn’t give him an answer, instead simply walking from the room. As he descended the stairs of the alehouse, he was glad to see that Finan was already up, even if not yet fully awake.

‘Mornin,’ Finan yawned as he saw him coming towards him, ‘sleep well?’.

Sihtric gave him a hard look, telling him that he wasn’t in the mood for small talk. He had thought on what Leofflaed had told him the night before, again making the anger boil in the depth of his stomach and woken knowing exactly what he was going to do. His determination must have shown on his face, as Finan eyed him suspiciously, swallowing the last of his breakfast.

‘What’s going on?’

‘We’re paying someone a visit apparently,’ came Osferth’s voice as he clumsily clambered down the stairs, looking more than worse for wear.

Finan raised his eyebrows at Sihtric, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. The Irishman always did love the opportunity for making some trouble.

They left the alehouse in their armour, their weapons in their belts, just as the city began to hum with activity. They made their way around the twisted streets until they came to the Eadric’s forge. Sihtric banged loudly on the door, Finan and Osferth flanking him on either side.

‘You?’ the man grimaced as he opened the door, his eyes filled with anger. He had clearly been out drinking the night before - judging by the stench of ale that came off him.

‘I have come for Leofflaed’s belongings,’ Sihtric answered, keeping his voice deadly calm, ‘seeing as she told me you refused to give them to her yesterday’.

Eadric remained still, standing wearily in the doorway. The man eyed each of them in turn, his eyes flickering over their many weapons. Sihtric stepped forward, hand resting on the handle of his sword, his eyes narrowing at the arsehole who he had watched beat his son the day before.

The blacksmith seemed to sense the danger and gingerly stepped aside to let him pass.

‘Thank you,’ he replied in an icy voice, as he walked through the forge into the small house.

Climbing up the ladder to the bedrooms, he soon caught sight of what he assumed to be Leofflaed’s bed. He began going through the small chest that sat next to it, gathering up the small number of faded dresses in his arms. At the bottom of the chest his eyes fell onto a small, wooden box, almost hidden amongst the fabrics. He opened it slowly, revealing the few treasures Leofflaed possessed. It consisted of a carved, wooden pendant necklace in the shape of a sailing boat; a few silver coins; a small, plain brass mirror; and an intricately carved bone comb. Closing the lid, he slid the box under his arm along with the dresses before climbing down the ladder.

When he returned to his waiting friends outside the forge, he gave the bundle of belongings to Osferth as he turned to face Eadric. He squared himself up to him, so that he was looking directly at his face. He could feel the anger and hatred surging up through him as he looked into the man’s vile eyes.

‘You may be interested to know that Leofflaed will be returning to Coccham with us and will be living with me and my wife,’ he calmly said, never allowing himself to break eye contact.

‘I don’t care where the bitch goes, she is no concern of mine,’ the man said with a snarl.

‘You’re right,’ Sihtric began, his voice threateningly low as he closed the gap between himself and Eadric, his anger pulsing through him and threatening to explode. ‘She is no concern of yours, so if I find out you so much as look at her or my son again, I _will_ kill you.’

The man didn’t move, but Sihtric was pleased to see a flicker of fear in his eyes.

‘Have a nice day,’ he whispered, with a threatening smile.

The three men turned and began to walk back to the alehouse, leaving the blacksmith frozen to the spot.

\---

When they returned to the alehouse, he was glad to see his son was up and about.

‘You look like shit,’ he laughed as he ruffled his son’s matted dark hair and placed an arm around his shoulder.

‘I wonder why?’ he grumbled in response.

The lad truly did look awful; his right eye was so swollen that he doubted he could see out of it, his nose looked broken, his face was disfigured, and blood still stained his skin. It pained Sihtric to see his son in pain like this, but he was alive which was what mattered.

‘Where is Leofflaed?’ he asked, looking around for her.

‘Graveyard,’ his son managed to say through a deep yawn, ‘she wanted to say goodbye to her mother before we went home.’

‘I’ll go fetch her, Uhtred wants us to leave as soon as we’re ready.’

He took the small box belonging to Leofflaed from Osferth and began making his way towards Winchester’s main graveyard. He found her crouching by a small wooden cross, her arms tucked in behind her knees.

‘Sorry to interrupt,’ he apologised, coming to sit beside her, ‘it’s just we’ll probably be leaving soon.’

She simply nodded not looking away from the cross, an unreadable expression on her face.

‘You shouldn’t listen to that bastard you know. I think your mother would have been proud of you yesterday, seeing you defend someone you love like that.’ Sihtric offered.

She smiled nervously, slowly nodding her head in agreement.

‘I lost my mother too, you see,’ he continued, ‘when I was very young. I often wonder if she is proud of me, of the man I have become – it is one of the things that drives me to be a better person, I think.’

Turning to look up at him, he could see tears threatening to spill from her eyes and he couldn’t help but feel a lump rise in his own throat. Her eyes widened as she noticed the small box, nestled in the crook of his arm.

‘I went to your house and got your things for you. Here,’ he said with a smile, as he handed her the box, ‘and you don’t have to worry about him anymore, I made sure of it.’

She looked up at him, a slight smile pulling at her lips.

‘You didn’t kill him, did you?’ she asked accusingly, before giving a small laugh as he shook his head. ‘Thank you,’ she said shyly, lifting the lid and running fingers over the contents of the box, ‘you have been so kind to me – far kinder than I deserve.’

He smiled at her, placing his arm around her shoulders as they began to walk back towards where the others were waiting with the horses.

\---

It was a relief when they finally rode out of the gates of Winchester. After everything that had happened the previous day, not to mention the months of fighting before that, Sihtric was very glad to be finally going home. He had missed his wife every day since he had said goodbye, all those months ago, as he always did whenever they were apart. When she wasn’t by his side, he felt like there was part of his soul missing. He missed his daughter also; he wondered how much Dagny would have grown in the four months he had been gone and laughed at the thought of all the questions she would have for him. She loved hearing about the battles her father fought in. He thanked the gods every day for his family that he loved so much.

When he first joined Uhtred, kneeling before him, clutching Thor’s hammer in his hands, he never thought he would have a home or a family. All he had known was loneliness, loss and Kjartan’s cruelty. In the many years since then, he had gained brothers in Uhtred, Finan and Osferth, a mixture of a sister and a mother in Hild, a beautiful women to love and cherish in Ealhswith, two healthy children to watch grow up and soon a grandchild he could help raise. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined he would experience such happiness.

He had watched his son and Leofflaed during their journey, seeing how they flirted and teased each other, and how their eyes lit up when the other smiled. He also noticed Leofflaed becoming more confident, joining in their conversations and laughing at their jokes.

They had stopped to let their horses rest next to a small stream where Leofflaed seemed to have challenged his son to some kind of duel, both now brandishing broken off sticks as makeshift words. He watched as they danced around each other, both taking much delight in hitting the other as hard as they could. Leofflaed’s stick flew from her hand, his son giving her a triumphant look. However, it didn’t last long, as she pulled his legs from under him, laughing as he hit the ground.

Despite his son’s bloodied, misshapen face, he could tell that he was happy. The way they teased and laughed with each other, and the way they were so at peace in each other’s company, warmed his heart.

He heard a chuckle next to him. He turned and saw that Uhtred had also been watching them.

‘They remind me of me and Brida,’ Uhtred sighed with a small shake of his head.

Soon they would be home and Sihtric had a feeling Leofflaed was going to fit right in.


	7. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot has changed for Leofflaed in the last few months. Ealhswith anxiously awaits the return of her husband and son.

_Leofflaed:_

At first, she had not realised that anything was amiss. Those first couple of weeks after she had said goodbye to Sihtric had dragged on like any other. She had not bled that month, which struck her as odd, but at first it had not concerned her. It had only been after she had failed to bleed for the second month in a row that Leofflaed had considered the possibility that something was wrong.

She had not immediately realised that she was pregnant. Her mother dying when she was still a child and not having any other female relatives had left her with little knowledge of pregnancy and meant that she had no one she could ask.

However, after a while it became undeniable.

She had not known whether to cry with joy or in despair. A child was a blessing she knew, and she would be lying if she said she had never dreamt of a having a family with Sihtric, but as the months dragged on with no word of Lord Uhtred or his men, her initial joy had turned to worry.

A nagging feeling had grown in her stomach with every day that passed. What if Sihtric never came back? What if he was lying on a battlefield bleeding out that very moment? What would become of her and their child then?

Her father would cast her out, she knew. He would not tolerate the humiliation and disgrace that having a child out of wedlock would bring. Without him she would have few options. She had no other family she could turn to, nor did she have any sufficient wealth to support herself. Sihtric’s family might take her in, but she had no way of proving that he had been the father, none of them had ever met her and she doubted they even knew her name. Would they believe her? Would strangers be willing to take her in? The truth was that during those months, Leofflaed had been scared. No way of knowing what kind of future awaited her.

Her father had been slow to realise. Perhaps he had ignored the signs because he did not want to believe it. However, as she approached her fourth month there was no way even he could deny the swelling of her stomach.

She had expected him to be angry with her, to beat her even, but what scarred her was how calm he was. He sat her down and said nothing. The silence had dragged on for what seemed like a lifetime, all the time he simply gave a her a cold, hard stare.

When her father was angry and drunk he lashed out at her, she had become used to that, but this calm, sober, silent anger was something new and that genuinely scared her. She had her dagger hidden and for the first time she actually considered that she may need to use it.

He had asked for the name of the father. At first, she had resolved to protect Sihtric, to not tell him so he would not harm him. However, it soon became clear that her father would not take silence for an answer.

So, she had told him and had watched the anger flash in his eyes.

The day Sihtric came home was both one of the best and worst days of her life. Relief had flooded over her when she heard he had returned home safely, but it had been quickly replaced by fear. There was no way she could get to him to warn him, to tell him to run, to hide, to go back to Coccham away from her father. She had not been permitted to leave her father’s sight since he had found out.

To see the man she loved being beaten in front of her had been in itself a kind of torture. She had screamed and screamed, pleading to her father to stop. She feared he would kill him and she couldn’t help but wonder if that was his intention.

It had all happened very quickly. In some way she had not even been aware of what she was doing. Before she had time to think she realised she was standing above her father with her dagger pointed towards his throat. His eyes had been filled with a mixture of anger, disbelief, and to Leofflaed’s delight, fear.

\---

As they neared Coccham, her stomach slowly began to twist in worry. Sihtric’s father, Sihtric, ( _that will get confusing_ , Leofflaed had thought) had been nothing but kind and welcoming towards her. She knew that he was a good man, it was well known that Lord Uhtred’s men were men of honour and Sihtric had told her much of his father’s heroics, but nonetheless she was still surprised. He had gone way beyond what was expected of him, confronting her father and even going so far as accepting her as his daughter. The other men too had been kind and friendly, none of them had judged her and she had thoroughly enjoyed the journey listening to their stories and jokes. She couldn’t help but hope that in Coccham she would find a place she could call home.

The sun was low in the sky by the time Coccham appeared in the near distance. It was fairly large compared to the other villages they had passed but was still a fraction of the size of Winchester. It seemed a peaceful, even beautiful place to live, surrounded by woods on one side and a river on the other. _Home_.

\---

 _Ealhswith_ :

It had been over four months since she had last seen her son and her husband, and although they had been away for longer in the past, Ealhswith couldn’t help but worry. She had always hated the waiting, the not knowing, and it had only grown worse since Young Sihtric had started to ride out with them.

‘Riders!’ came a shout from the guards on the wall. A declaration that brought both hope and dread to her heart – it could be her family returning home or it could be raiders come to burn the village to the ground.

The gates opened to reveal Lord Uhtred flanked by Finan. Relief swept over her, only to be replaced by worry. Osferth had followed Uhtred and Finan as always, however her husband had not been in his usual place next to him. More men came through the gates and yet there was still no sign.

Pushing her way through the crowd of villages who had come to welcome their men home, she made her way to where Finan was patting down his horse and talking happily to Hild.

He could obviously sense her distress as he answered her before she even had time to speak.

‘They’re fine, don’t worry,’ he reassured her, ‘they were travelling at the back of the group is all’.

She sighed with relief, however the Irishman seemed uneasy. ‘What is it?’

‘Well, they are both fine, but, well, uh, you see, something happened in Winchester.’

Finan didn’t have to say any more as her husband and her son rode through the gates, bringing up the rear of the group. Her eyes fell on her son’s bloodied, misshapen face and her breath caught in her throat. She strode purposely towards them. Her husband also seemed to be developing a black eye. None of the other men seemed to have similar injuries leaving her to assume these were from whatever _incident_ Finan had mentioned.

‘Ealhswith!’

Sihtric’s arms were soon around her, his face buried in her neck. She allowed them to stay there, whatever had happened could wait for a few moments whilst she simply enjoyed the feeling of having him back safe in her arms.

‘Hello mother’.

‘Have you been starting fights again?’ She said sternly, pulling herself away from her husband. They both seemed to stammer slightly, obviously not knowing where to start to explain whatever trouble they had gotten themselves into this time.

‘Father!’ Dagny cried as she rushed passed Ealhswith and into her husband’s arms, putting on hold whatever explanation the two men had been trying to come up with.

It was then that she noticed the young woman standing just behind her son. ‘And who is this?’

The men fell silent for a moment before Young Sihtric pulled her forward, linking his hand in hers. The young woman smiled shyly; the other hand not held by her son resting on her stomach.

‘My name is Leofflaed, it is a pleasure to meet you,’ the girl said nervously, giving her a genuine smile.

‘The pleasure is mine,’ she replied warmly, taking in her swollen stomach and the way she looked lovingly at her son. ‘You must be cold and hungry. I believe some food and ale is being served in Lord Uhtred’s hall for all the travellers. Dagny, why don’t you show our guest the way and we will join you in a moment?’

She watched as they left towards the hall, arm in arm, before turning to her son. She did not even try to mask the anger that was slowly rising inside of her.

‘You got a girl pregnant?’

\---

After a stern talk with her son and an explanation of the past days’ events from her husband, Ealhswith finally entered the crowded hall. She scanned the room and found Leofflaed sitting on a bench next to the fire, Dagny on her lap.

‘Hello again,’ she said cheerfully as she approached them, ‘my name is Ealhswith, I’m sorry I forgot to introduce myself when we met earlier.’

‘That is okay. Dagny has been telling me the most wonderful stories about Sihtric, I think I will save them to use against him when he annoys me,’ she replied with a devilish grin.

They all chuckled. She sat down next to them and after a little small talk she sent Dagny to find her father and brother, leaving her alone with Leofflaed.

‘How long have you known my son?’

‘Oh, it must be nearly a year and a half now,’ she said smiling.

‘Well I am glad to finally meet you. We all knew that Young Sihtric was seeing someone in Winchester and now I see why, you are quite the beauty.’

Leofflaed blushed at the compliment.

Sihtric had explained to her about the girl’s bastard of a father and what had occurred the day before. Her husband had clearly become fond of the girl in the short time he had known her, he had sounded so proud when he had described the way she had threatened her father and how she handled her blade. Sihtric was right, she was family now.

‘I hope that you can find a home here, Leofflaed. I also want you to know that if you need anything Sihtric and I will always be here for you.’

‘Your husband said something similar.’

‘I know,’ she said with a smile, ‘we mean it. You are one of us now and we’ll always look after you, _both_ of you. Now lets go get you settled in.’


End file.
